His Raging Addiction

Chapter 9

His lips parted to answer and the phone on his desk rang. A picture flashed on the screen, of a familiar blonde whom Reid calls mom. He picked it up, his eyes flitting to me. "Hello. Hey Mom, what's up?" He stood from his chair and walked over into the far corner of the office, his back to me.

My heart pounded in my chest, the last time I saw Reid's mother she was in recovery. Questions about her mental health and physical state burned in my mind. Reid kept his voice hushed at the other side of the room.

I played with the fabric of my skirt until he ended the call and sat back down. "How is she?" I blurted, my mouth having a mind of its own. I know it was none of my business anymore but I couldn't keep it to myself.

Reid's eyes softened, his phone tipping out of his hand and onto the surface of the desk. "She's doing good. Great actually. My parents moved to Miami FL, a while back and are fairly happy." His eyes connected with mine, warm pools of honey melting me into my seat. "But yeah, she's good."

"I'm glad to hear that," I nodded my head, my chest feeling a tad bit lighter. Mary scared the crap out of me that one day I found her lying unconscious on the floor. I still find myself having nightmares that wake me up in a cold sweat and with chills running down my back.

"Thank you for asking," a small grin spread along his lips.

I couldn't help but return the gesture, my smile mirroring his. For the first time in forever, Reid and I shared a moment where I didn't feel like gouging his pretty eyes out. I inhaled a sharp breath, breaking eye contact. "Was there anything else you needed Mr. Williams?"

He flinched at the use of his last name. "No, you're good to go. Keep me updated on the progress of the project. I have a lot riding on this condo." His fingers drummed on the wooden seat. He nodded towards the door, dismissing me.

I left the office wordlessly with a strange feeling lodged in my chest. It's probably nothing, I told myself as I closed the door behind me.

—

I climbed into my car, my day was finally over and I could go home. I pulled out of the parking garage and pulled up to the lights. As I was taking the route to my home I noticed a black car with tinted windows riding my ass for no reason.

I switched lanes to let them pass but they only followed my actions. I raised an eyebrow and stepped on the gas. The car sped up as well. My heart pounded in my chest, my breath hitching in my throat.

The car came to a stop, traffic keeping me in one spot. I looked through my rearview mirror, my fingers nervously gripping the steering wheel. As soon as the light turned green I took a right and started swerving between cars trying to lose my tail.

The car however kept up. There was no way I was going home. I sped down the road and then made a sudden U-turn the motion of it pulling my body to the side.

I picked up my phone and dialed his number. The phone picked up a ring later, his deep voice flowing through the speakers. "Jade?"

"Reid, someone's following me from the office." I tried to control my breathing and drive at the same time. "I'm coming back. Can you meet me outside?" I bit down on my bottom lip, my eye's flying between my mirrors.

"Yes, of course." I could hear Reid rising from his seat. "Can you describe the car to me?"

I blinked, looking back to see the dark car gone from behind me. I almost screamed when I saw it edging forward on my right. "Black sedan, tinted windows, BMW." The words came out in short bursts. "I'm turning into the parking garage now."

"I'm right outside by your parking space." He replied, his voice eerily calm. "Soon as you park, get out of the car."

I rounded up to the third floor to where my spot was. Reid laid against another's car, his eyes scanning the room with a baseball bat lying in one hand. Where the hell did he get a baseball bat? Does he just have them lying around his office? I jumped out of the car and ran to Reid. He pulled me to his side, my body shaking in his hold.

The engine of the black sedan could be heard coming around the corner. "Stay here," Reid told me. He stood in the middle of the road, his fingers gripping the base of the bat tightly. The car rolled around barely coming to a stop when the car saw Reid standing there pissed as hell.

He brought the bat up and smashed it into the windshield of the car, shattering the glass. He smashed the car some more before walking over to the driver's seat. He smashed the window with the butt of the bat and opened the door, pulling out a scrawny white man. He sheltered his face with his hands, yelping when he was pulled out of the car.

"The hell are you and why are you following Jade?" Reid held him by his shirt, pinning him against the side of the car. His breathing was heavy, eyes blazing as he scrutinized the small man.

"P-please don't hurt me. Someone paid me to follow her. I thought this was supposed to be a crazy funny prank man. How am I supposed to return the car now?" His bottom lip wobbled, his gaze glossing over the destroyed car.

"Who paid you to do this?" Reid tightened his grip.

The man paled, "I don't know. People come to me when they want to stay anonymous. I was sent instructions to pick up the car and follow her by someone on my website."

Blood roared in my ears. Why would someone pay for me to be followed? Goosebumps ran over my arms, and a chill flew down my back.

"And I should believe you why?" Reid pushed the man against the crushed glass. He whimpered, the glass scraping his back.

"Look look, here's my website. People pay me to prank others all the time. I was recording the whole time. I send them back to my clients when I'm done." He pulled out his phone, flipping through the different videos of him pranking people on his phone.

Reid took the phone out of his hand and looked through the videos. "This your camera?" He pointed towards the small computer set up on the dashboard.

The man nodded frantically.

Reid pushed him to the side, ripped the camera from the dashboard, and smashed it on the floor. "You're not sending this video back."

The man's jaw hung on the floor, his eyes rapidly blinking. "My camera," he attempted to scoop up the shattered pieces. "What the hell, I'll sue you for this. I have my rights!" He stood up, his fists balled to his side.

"To follow and terrorize a young woman and record her without her permission? Yeah, I don't think so. Get out of here before I damage something other than your camera." Reid warned him.

"What am I supposed to do about the car?"

Reid shrugged his shoulders, "dump it. Give it back. I don't care, just get off of my premises before I call the police."

The man got into his car, a snarl etched onto his face. Reid stepped aside and watched him roll the car out of the garage. He took a picture of the license plate before turning to me, "Are you okay?"

I blinked, my gaze stuck on the shattered glass littering the floor. I hugged myself, trying to rub the fresh goosebumps away. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you." I lifted my face to his. A line of worry sank on his forehead, his eyes skimming over me for any damages.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I just don't get why someone would pay for me to get followed around."

Reid blew out a breath, his eyes scanning the room. "Let's go up to my office. I'm going to pack my things and make sure you get home safe," his hand wandered to my lower back and guided me toward the elevator. He pressed the up button and stood behind me in a protective stance as we waited for the doors to slide open.

In any other situation, I would have declined and gone home by myself. But the fear I felt running through my heart lost all the fight I had in me today.  Looks like I have another thing to talk about in therapy.